Roly-Poly Dolls | Captain Jack Harkness

Salt Lake City Comic Con starts this week! And since two of my favorite Doctor Who stars, John Barrowman and Catherine Tate, are attending this year, I thought I’d take the opportunity to make some additions to my roly-poly doll collection on this blog. First up is the enigmatic and flirtatious Captain Jack Harkness.

Patterns:

The first step is to make the doll head and arms. Follow the directions in the pattern. See the posts I did for the 1st and 2nd Doctor dolls for more detailed photos. Next, paint the face. John Barrowman appears to have light grey-blue eyes. I recommend using a paintbrush with a fine tip or the head of a pin to paint on the fine details.

Once that’s done, unravel the crepe wool hair and use a steamer or a hair straightener to take out the curl. Captain Jack has short, rugged hair parted over his right eye. Apply glue along the hairline of the doll. Cut off small strips of the wool, stretch them out into a 1/2-inch line, and stick one end into the glue. Glue on more strips of wool hair as needed to fill in the hair. After the glue has dried, use scissors to trim any excess and shape the hairstyle.

Sew together the shirt and trousers. Follow the directions in the pattern. While you’re doing that, don’t forget to fill a fold top sandwich bag with birdseed or rice and tie off the top. It should be about the size of an orange or a small softball.

The final step in making the shirt and trousers involves gathering stitches around the neck of the doll. Here are some important tips to remember when gathering stitches:

Change the stitch length on your sewing machine to the longest stitch possible.

Do not back-stitch at the start or end of your line.

Make sure the two lines of stitches are parallel and do not cross paths.

Gather either all the top stitches or all the bottom stitches. Do not gather both the top and bottom.

Once the neck has been gathered and tied off, push the bag of birdseed through the bottom hole and tighten the drawstring. Tie off the drawstring.

Now it’s time to sew the collar. Follow the instructions in the pattern. Glue the collar around the neck of the doll. Fold back both ends of the collar and glue them down as well. Use pins to hold them in place while the glue dries, but be carefully not to puncture the bag of rice or birdseed.

Captain Jack’s signature look includes suspenders and a belt. Cut two lengths of brown 1/8-inch ribbon. Glue them to the front of the doll (where the shirt meets the trousers), pull them over the shoulder, and glue them to the back. Sew the belt using the instructions and glue it around the doll, over the ends of the ribbon.

Next, sew Captain Jack’s signature RAF coat. This is the same pattern you used to make many of the Doctors’ coats, just with a few added details. Follow the instructions in the pattern. Glue the epaulettes to the shoulders and the gold bead/”buttons” to the front and you’ve got an miniature RAF coat fit for a time agent.

La piece de resistance is Captain Jack’s Vortex Manipulator. This one is made of three pieces of fabric and a length of 1/8-inch brown ribbon. Follow the instructions in the pattern and glue it around the wrist of your doll.

There you have it! A miniature Captain Jack Harkness ready to stir up trouble and steal hearts all across the universe!

If you liked this post, please share it with your friends and family on social media. Captain Jack would! 😉Tomorrow’s post will be all about everyone’s favorite fiesty ginger–Donna Noble, so don’t forget to stop back!